Rejoicing in Ripon: Royal recognition for Ripon’s Waste Not champion

👑🌱 Caroline Bentham is a person who puts every day to good use, from turning surplus food into nutritious and affordable meals 🍲 to active involvement with numerous causes and organisations in Ripon and the wider area 💛.

Her tireless voluntary work, which has inspired others to become volunteers, has not gone unnoticed — she has received royal recognition with the award of a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to the community 🎖️. The medal was presented to her by Jo Ropner, the Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire.

Supported by Ripon BID members 🤝

In 2022 Caroline launched an environmentally‑friendly initiative called Waste Not Wednesday, operating from Community House in Allhallowgate ♻️.

Thanks to support from Ripon BID members Morrisons, M&S Food and Tesco, families and individuals can select up to eight delicious food items made from goods supplied by the supermarkets that could otherwise have ended up in an anaerobic digester 🛒➡️🌍.

Each freshly made meal created by Caroline and her team of volunteers costs just 50p and can be purchased at Community House every Wednesday between 12 noon and 1.30pm. All people living in the city are welcome 🙌.

Visitors can buy a ‘basket’ of up to eight items, choosing from a selection of savoury and sweet dishes 🍛🍰.

Caroline told Tim Flanagan of the Rejoicing in Ripon Blog: “I see the BEM as recognition of the work done by all members of the team and I also thank Morrisons, M&S Food and Tesco for donating the surplus food that we turn into meals.”

She added: “In addition to the supermarkets, we receive items donated to us by Ripon‑based allotment holders, ensuring that users of our service can enjoy meals that include fresh fruit and vegetables.” 🍎🥕🌿

A lot on her plate 🍽️✨

While the Waste Not initiative takes up a large slice of Caroline’s time, she is also an assistant county commissioner for the Girlguiding movement in North Yorkshire West 🌟 and is heavily involved in a £500,000 fundraising campaign to rebuild a community activity centre at Birk Crag in Harrogate — a space that will be used by guides from Ripon and across the district once completed 🏕️.

She is also chair of Friends of Spa Gardens, which launched and runs Ripon’s annual Winter Wonderland festival each Christmas 🎄, and a scrap metal fund she set up several years ago has supported other community projects in the city, including Ripon Men’s Shed, where she was among the original founders 🔧❤️.

Caroline Bentham (centre) received the British Empire Medal for services to the community from Jo Ropner the Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire. The presentation was also attended by Caroline’s mum, Hazel Barker.

Caroline (third from the left) is pictured with Waste Not volunteers, from the left: Joanna Collier, Catherine Wyatt, Angela Turnbull, Janet Sutton and Graham Alderson